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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Deacon Matthew Smith, Sr.
November 1, 2019 Email: msmithsr1943@gmail.com
Phone: 267-973-5555
Pennsylvania National Action Network Calls on Sen. Elizabeth Warren to
Support Removal of Frank Rizzo Monument from Thomas Paine Plaza
Philadelphia, PA -- On the day Mayor Jim Kenney announced his endorsement of Sen.
Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, it was reported Kenney has
no plan to remove the controversial Frank Rizzo monument from Thomas Paine Plaza. The
statue was installed on City property under the cover of darkness hours before it was
unveiled on January 1, 1999. Then-mayor Ed Rendell now says it was a mistake to install
the monument in front of the Municipal Services Building.
Pennsylvania State Chapter National Action Network President Matthew Smith said, “I lived
under Frank Rizzo’s reign of terror. During his tenure as police commissioner and mayor,
the African American community experienced trauma at the hands of the police. The
monument memorializes a bully who presided over a police department that engaged in a
pattern of brutal behavior that “shocks the conscience.” That was the conclusion of the
United States Department of Justice which in 1979 filed a lawsuit against the City of
Philadelphia. The Justice Department charged Mayor Rizzo and 18 high-ranking police
officers either committed or condoned “widespread and severe” acts of police brutality. It
was the first time a city was sued by the Justice Department.”
Paula Peebles, founder and chair of Pennsylvania State Chapter National Action Network
(PA NAN), said, “The public was never asked whether the family-financed vanity project
was an appropriate monument for Philadelphia. In August 2017, the public was finally
given an opportunity to weigh in. The City received nearly 4,000 submissions. PA NAN
hand delivered more than 300 letters to City Hall. We called on Mayor Kenney to remove
the Frank Rizzo monument to police brutality and racial oppression.”
On November 13, 2017, then-Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis announced “we have
come to the decision that the Rizzo statue will be moved to a different location.”

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Peebles added, “Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Criminal Reform Justice Plan acknowledges that
“many people of color, including Native Americans, disproportionately experience trauma
at the hands of law enforcement, sometimes with life-altering consequences.” The Rizzo
statute is a daily trigger of the trauma inflicted on African Americans. The Pennsylvania
State Chapter of National Action Network calls on Sen. Warren to support our years’ long
campaign to remove the Frank Rizzo monument from the gateway to municipal services.”
Faye Anderson, director of All That Philly Jazz, said “Frank Rizzo was notorious for his
harassment of jazz musicians and club owners. The monument was paid for by the Rizzo
family foundation and unveiled after the Mummers parade, an event known for its racially
charged antics. Philadelphians were never asked whether the Rizzo monument was an
appropriate representation of the City.”
Anderson added, “Representation matters. Sen. Warren supports removing Confederate
monuments. In saying the Rizzo monument will stay put because it will allegedly cost
$100,000 to remove it from Thomas Paine Plaza, Mayor Kenney puts a price tag on hate. At
the same time, the City spends taxpayers’ money to repair and secure the frequently
vandalized statue. The Rizzo monument was installed in hours. It can be uninstalled in
hours.”
About Pennsylvania State Chapter National Action Network: The Pennsylvania State
Chapter National Action Network is a nonprofit organization that advocates for issues of
concern to the African American community. The issues include protecting voting rights;
protesting the excessive use of deadly force by the police; promoting policies and initiatives
to reduce gun violence and racial profiling; ending “stop-and-frisk” policing and the school-
to-prison pipeline; advocating for equal quality education for all students; and fighting
against housing discrimination and gentrification. PA NAN fosters civic engagement by
hosting community forums, demonstrations and rallies. For more information, visit
http://phillynan.org.
About All That Philly Jazz: All That Philly Jazz is a crowdsourced public history project
that is mapping Philadelphia’s lost jazz shrines and contextualizing the social history of
jazz. For more information, visit http://phillyjazz.us.
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